The Betrayer
by Dark Nemesis 7
Summary: Of vampires, and those who protect them. Robin/Vlad. Chapter 2 up!
1. Chapter 1

(A/N: Now, I don't know how far I'll get with this, but I figured I'd post it for the hell of it, and maybe you guys can light a fire under my ass and actually make me finish. Anyway, most fics have Vlad seduce Robin, whether that means Robin panics and gives in or is suitably wooed, and I thought it might be fun to have it happen the other way around for a change. I hope that you either enjoy this story or get a good laugh at my pitiful attempt at literacy. Also, prepare yourselves for terrible music as well – every chapter will have a theme song.)

Theme song – You Can Count On Me by Default

-----

Vlad had been nearly silent all day. He stared off into the space between the ground and peoples' ankles, avoiding bumping into things solely out of muscle memory. Robin had noticed, of course, and kept quiet, steering his friend when he had to. Even when someone shoved him into a locker, the young vampire just brushed his shoulder off and continued on to his next class. It was to be expected, though. The next day was his sixteenth birthday.

In art, the two sat in solitary companionship, Vlad receiving it and Robin doing his best to give it. They didn't need to speak to understand each other. Robin liked to think that Vlad was grateful, that he helped in some way. The taller youth drew. The brunet just tapped his pencil against his paper. The same happened in each class until the end of the day, when the bell rang and both boys got up and left for the castle.

"This was my last day in the sun," Vlad said once they were safely tucked away in his tower room.

"Yeah. But you can still see it in movies," Robin replied, trying to be optimistic.

The blue-eyed youth didn't smile. "It's not the same."

Robin moved a bit closer to him. They were sitting on the large bed which after today Vlad would no longer need. "You'll get to live for eternity. That's a lot cooler than tanning," he said.

"An eternity being evil. Killing people. I'd rather be mortal," Vlad admitted.

"Come on. Ingrid didn't get any worse when she changed," Robin said.

"Boris did."

The expression on the young Dracula's face had become so despondent that his human friend could no longer contain himself. He shuffled over and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "We both know you're not the kind of person who would be like that. Think about the good things you can do when you're the Grand High Vampire. You can make it so that vampires hardly ever drink peoples' blood at all," he comforted.

Vlad cast him a sad look. "But what about when I just start out as a vampire and I don't know how to suppress my urges yet? What if I bite someone? What if I bite… you?" he questioned.

Robin caught the vampire's eyes with his own. "Listen to me, Vlad. I will protect you, even from yourself," he said, searching for the right words, looking more serious than he ever had. "I won't let you do anything you wouldn't want to. Even if you don't believe in you, I do."

He was worried that his statement would be awkward, but instead, an inkling of grateful hope came over his friend's face. "Really, Robin? You mean that?" he murmured, leaning against the taller boy, tired from his internal struggle.

Robin felt a shiver go through him. "Of course." He squeezed Vlad's shoulder. "And I'll be here tomorrow to wait for you."

Vlad shook his head. "My grandparents will be here. All the important vampires will be coming for this," he protested.

The black-haired youth raised an eyebrow. "And they're so important that they don't have to listen to the Grand High Vampire when he says to leave the breather alone?"

"You have a point," Vlad conceded. "But you'll have to be careful."

Robin nodded eagerly. "I will be." 'Of course,' he thought to himself, 'I wouldn't mind getting bitten all that much.'

-----

There they were. He could see them through the window, vague shapes to the bare eye, but lucid silhouettes with his binoculars on. Two boys, one with dark brown hair, a little on the chubby side and shorter, and one with pitch-coloured hair, a smattering of freckles over his nose and taller. The first was going to be the new Grand High Vampire whom the watching man had been hired to slay. The second was… Well, there would be time enough for that. He licked his lips. Oh yes, precious time. He'd never taken such a valuable or exquisite souvenir from his previous hunts, but there was a first for everything.

-----

Robin stared up at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Even Vlad had fallen asleep well over an hour ago, his breathing (how weird it was to think that this would be the last time he'd hear him breathe!) finally calming. But Robin couldn't rest. He had a lot on his mind.

The decision to stick by Vlad despite the dangers was instinctual and automatic. Of course he'd stay. How could he not? Vlad was everything to him.

Back when the rest of his family, the Van Helsings and that slayer who'd killed Will had been brainwashed, Robin had still remembered. He couldn't be sure why it hadn't worked, only that Vlad had seemed terribly relieved when he came back the next day. When the vampire had expressed astonishment at his intact memory, Robin had laughed. He'd lived a long, lonely life before Vlad came to town. They never talked about that time of his life, and he was thankful for that. All the nights he'd spent crying, nursing black eyes and wondering why he had to choose between being himself and being happy still nipped at his heels, reminding him that he was only one person away from returning to that. It would have been impossible for him to forget. Vlad had opened the shutters on his life, letting the light in for the first time, showing him how wonderful things could be. With him, every day was unique. He'd offered the pomegranate and Robin had eaten for all he was worth.

Over the two years since Vlad being declared the Chosen One, his dedication had only grown. Everything was better with Vladimir around. What he felt for the other boy was deeper than even he cared to examine for fear of what he'd find. His parents didn't understand him, his siblings disliked him, or, in Chloe's case, pitied him, his grades were bad, and the things he was good at were nothing he could make a living from. The only thing he had was his unlikely companionship with someone who, as of tomorrow, would be an official predator of his species. But it was what he had, and he held on unquestioningly. Vlad always acted like there was somewhere else Robin could go, like the vampire was just a convenience Robin had. He didn't correct him out of fear that revealing the actual depth of his devotion would scare Vlad away. He could recover from losing his family. He couldn't recover from losing Vlad.

And so it was that he had made a promise earlier, not just to the insecure vampire, but to himself. Finally, his eyelids began to drift downwards and he curled up. Vlad would need him tomorrow, and he needed to be ready to be there for him.


	2. Chapter 2

Theme song – No Giving Up by Crossfade

Robin's eyelids shot open when an imperative knock startled him into wakefulness. "Up you come, Vladdy boy! It's your special day!" the Count emphasized.

"Ungh," the boy in question groaned, sitting up. He had shadows under his eyes, though less than Robin had. "I guess it's time."

They got dressed in separate corners of the room, facing away from each other. Robin spent enough time at Vlad's castle that he kept spare clothes there just in case he needed them, which he often did. Today he found that he had left his favourite underwear there. He hoped this was a good omen.

Down at breakfast, there was already a gigantic feast prepared – cake, wine, even turkey. Presents fit for the heir of darkness lined the room, awaiting their moment of glory. Robin, who entered the room just behind Vlad, stood in shock at the grandeur. Magda, Ingrid, Krone and Atilla Westenra, Ivan and Olga Dracula, and relatives he had never seen before sat around the table. At the head, the Count himself had prepared a lavish seat at his right hand, sitting open for his son and youngest child.

"Oh dear, you brought Robin," the head of the house remarked.

One of the unknown vampires hissed. "A mortal! What's he doing here?" she spat.

"Robin's my friend. No one is going to hurt him," Vlad said, surprisingly imperatively.

The Count nodded. "Yes, very well, I just wish you had told me sooner. Renfield! Fetch a seat from the crypts!" he barked.

Krone glared at Vlad. "It does not befit the new Grand High Vampire to meddle with breathers," she said coolly.

"Robin stays," he stated. Renfield returned with a chair, and with that, the meal began. It was part revelry and part last celebration. No matter small it was, there was still a chance that Vlad wouldn't survive. That was why the feast came beforehand and the presents waited until after to be opened.

It passed all too fast, with relatives making speeches, most about the glory of the Draculas and the vampiric things that Vladimir had done, such as the incident with the slayers and the time he'd bitten Renfield as a baby (Robin nearly retched at the idea of putting one's mouth on Renfield's skin). Some, however, talked about the real Vlad. Despite the Count's usual foppish nature, his speech was the most heart-tugging. By the end of it, even Robin felt a bit misty-eyed. He pretended to be very focused on his left knuckles until it went away.

Finally, it was the moment of truth. The Count led the congregation down deep into the castle, through winding passages until they reached a large door with two suits of armour guarding it. "Well, Vladimir, make me proud," he declared, putting a hand on his son's shoulder.

Vlad looked pale. "You can do it," Robin whispered encouragingly to him. To his surprise, he received a flash of a smile back. Then Vlad was gone, leaving Robin behind to wait, and worry.

Time passed. In a vague, distant place, a clock tolled. Slowly, invisibly, the crowd thinned and wavered. There were some people, then there were very few. Eventually, only the Count, Magda, Ingrid and Robin were left. Waiting. Watching. In Robin's case, hoping.

-----

Vladimir Dominus Imperita Electus Dracula.

Vlad stood still with his left fingertips touching the blood mirror. Around him, the rest of the room seemed to have faded away and gone black. In front of him, a figure emerged. His reflection gradually swam up to the surface. It reached its right hand up and his obeyed. Now they touched fingerprint to fingerprint, and the eyes of his reflection began to glow a bright gold.

"Vladimir Dominus Imperita Electus Dracula, I know you can hear me."

He swallowed but kept his gaze level. "I can," he answered.

His reflection grinned, revealing long fangs, enamel-bright and razor-sharp. "It is time for you to accept your destiny," it told him.

Vlad's eyes hardened. "I've already accepted it," he responded flatly.

The image laughed in a guttural, low tone. "You've accepted that you're going to have to deny me for the rest of your eternal life when you and I could work together twice as easily," it rectified.

For a moment, Vlad submitted to his more feral urges, drawing his lips away from his teeth. "To do what? Drink all of Stokely dry?" he growled.

The apparition shook its head. "You are the Chosen One, Vlad. I'm not here to tempt you, I'm here to show you what you could be if you worked together with your vampiric nature," it said.

Vlad examined it warily. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Let me show you," it suggested. "Imagine..."

The surroundings lit to reveal that Vlad was in the middle of a forest. The mirror faded out of view as a scream that could rend metal reverberated through the trees, and he tensed into a crouch. He recognized the voice, though he couldn't tell whose it was. He'd never heard such pain in a voice since Ingrid had lost Will. With his heightened senses, though, he could pinpoint exactly where it was coming from, and he sped off in that direction.

He found himself in a gigantic clearing lined with a hundred people carrying torches. They hadn't noticed him yet; they were too busy watching something at the centre of their congregation and shouting. Above the din rose a single piercing wail, followed by cries of triumph from the humans at the front. Whatever occurred caused the crowd to swell, and through the cracks created by the movement, Vlad saw something that jarred him to the bone. There was Robin, captive in the crush of people, lying beaten on the reddening grass. His black hair dripped with sweat and blood and his face with tears. For a second, he looked up and saw Vlad, and extended a single hand. Then someone stepped forward and crushed it back to the ground beneath her boot. And within himself, Vladimir felt something awaken.

His senses were so acute that he could see every smear of blood on Robin's face, could hear his ragged breath. Strength like he had never known flooded into him, and from his bared teeth, fangs jagged into action. Superhuman speed pulled him forward. Nothing in his path was an obstacle; the shouts around him as he pushed people out of the way were inconsequential. He could feel his hands stretching out before he told them to, and in seconds, he was there. Wet cloth clenched in his fists as he pulled Robin to himself and whipped back to face the crowd. He hissed, low and fierce. Golden eyes pierced into the hearts of the humans and found in them no resistance.

"Do you understand now?" he heard from behind himself.

And then, just as suddenly as he had been there, he was gone, and Vlad was standing back in front of the mirror, fingers still touching. His reflection stared back.

"I..." he began, then trailed off. "I saved him." He looked in wonder at the back of his hands as the fury at seeing Robin in such a state ebbed away.

The image grinned. "You are the Chosen One. You are the one who will walk among humans. You can turn away your power, or you can risk succumbing to it on the chance that you can conquer it to protect those you care about," it told him. "The choice is yours, Vladimir Dracula."

Vlad thought of Ingrid. He thought of his father, the Count, and even his mother. He thought of Robin. And he took his last, deep breath. "I'll do it," he murmured.

The sensation was ripping. He felt the fingers of his reflection suddenly grip into his, pulling them in. Vlad screamed and almost jumped away, but then the image of Will turning to dust filled his head and instead, he reached forwards and grabbed blindly at the wrists of his mirror image. He missed. Now their heads were touching, forehead to forehead, the other face a grotesque mask of harlequinesque distortion, Vlad concentrating only on what he was, who he was, and what he wanted to keep of himself. He reached out again. This time, his hands fumbled against the shirt of the apparition, and a burst of triumph filled him. Summoning every minute power in his body, he pulled towards himself.

-----

There had been noise in the room, and then it had stopped. Easily, as though their burdens were weightless, the statues blocking the way sheathed their swords again, and everyone waiting to know what would happen to Vlad knew that his fate was sealed now. For a moment, no one moved. And in that moment, the door opened.

The new vampire stood there, panting slightly but fully alive. Robin's heart leapt into his throat. "Vlad!" he shouted.

The Count strode forward and pulled his youngest progeny into a deep hug. "Vladimir, I knew you would be fine," he exclaimed. His son returned the hug, eyes closed. Sweat trickled down his face. He had discarded his cape somewhere along the way, leaving him looking darkly handsome in a black silk dress shirt and velvet pants.

Ingrid rolled her eyes. "Ugh, great, now I'll have to work even harder to get the castle," she growled. "Thanks, Vlad." She strode out of the room, probably to return to her efforts to resurrect Will with alchemy.

Magda took her turn embracing her son. "Good job," she said distantly. "I knew any child of mine would be a vampire." She exchanged menacing looks with her former lover over his shoulder before letting him go.

Finally, it was Robin's turn, now that even the rest of the Draculas had gone upstairs to break the news. He stood face-to-face with his friend, wondering what had changed, wondering if he had been relegated to food.

It was Vlad who stepped forward. He looked his friend over with wide eyes. "Wow," he murmured. "I can hear your heartbeat."

Robin watched him warily. "Does it sound tasty?" he asked.

Vlad continued moving forwards. "I never thought it'd be like this," he whispered, touching Robin's neck with a single, cooling hand. Robin shivered; whether from the coldness of the touch or something else, he couldn't say. "Now I can truly see how right I was. Human life is precious. Every breath you take, every drop of blood," the brunet continued. "You're so vibrant."

Now Robin's heart was doing triple time, and not out of fear. Vlad was so close that he could feel the air from his words. His mouth hung open. He couldn't think...

"Vladimir! Are you coming or not?" Count Dracula called from upstairs.

Immediately, the two broke apart. "Sorry," Vlad murmured.

Robin flashed him a smile, even though he was still shaken. "It's all right," he said airily, and with that, the pair went upstairs to face the expectant crowd of vampires.

As soon as Vlad came into view of the others, a cheer arose. "Bloodsuckers and vampiresses, I present to you the Chosen One and your new Grand High Vampire!" the Count declared. Robin lingered behind as Vlad was swept into the hissing crowd. Everyone wanted to shake his hand and pat his back. He took in the gathering in wonder, loving every second of it. Surrounded by all the elite of the vampire community, he could almost pretend that he was a part of it. He felt privileged to be there, allowed to see what few other mortals had ever survived. Still, he kept his eye on his friend, never allowing his view to quite stray away.

And, he noticed, there was another person who was watching Vlad with hawk eyes. Another vampire, hardly older than sixteen herself, was slowly making her way through the crowd towards the new initiate. She had black curls descending past her shoulders and deeply hazel eyes. Finally she caught up with Vlad and began to talk to him. Robin's gaze wandered to the table for a moment. He was getting hungry again, and there was still cake. When he looked back, he was surprised to see that Vlad was still talking to her. Inexplicably, a flame of jealousy lit in Robin's heart.

The girl was forced to break away from him when Magda impatiently began to ring a spoon against her glass. "Time for presents, darling," she declared. "Open mine first."

It was an expensive black messenger bag with a bat clasp. "They're all the rage with fashionable young men these days," she explained. "It has secret pockets to hide blood in, too."

Vlad exchanged glances with Robin. "Uh, thanks, mom," he answered.

The next present came from his father. Renfield had to bring it to him on a trolley because it was so heavy. The shape of it was unmistakable, and unwrapped, Robin's guess was proven right. "Sweet coffin," he breathed.

It was made of a rich red wood and lined with scarlet velvet. Vlad, who was not quite so eager to sleep in a bed for the dead, was not quite as enthusiastic, but he still thanked his father.

Ingrid's gift was equally pragmatic. "A silver flask. Thanks, sis," Vlad said.

She rolled her eyes. "It's for blood, but I expect you'll use it for Dr. Pepper instead," she snubbed.

After that, the gifts were from people Robin didn't know. It was weird for him to be sidelined at his own best friend's party in favour of strangers, but he was content to have been important enough to Vlad just to have been allowed to stay. Still, he worried that his position in Vlad's life had changed now that he was a vampire. They hadn't spoken at all since the occurrence in the basement.

Once the gifts were done with, the vampires began to filter out, congratulating Vlad on their way. It was evening, and they were ready for travel. Robin waited by the table, uncertain about whether or not he should follow suit. Ingrid had disappeared back into her room and the Count had gone off 'for drinks' with Magda. In the end, Atilla and Krone, the last two lingerers, parted ways and left Vlad and Robin alone together.

The black-haired youth shifted from foot to foot. "Do you want me to go, too?" he asked awkwardly.

Vlad turned to look at him. His eyes had a golden sheen in them, but then he blinked a few times and it was replaced by an embarrassed expression. "Um, no," he mumbled, "Please stay."

Robin's face split into a grin. "I'll help you carry this stuff up to your room," he declared.

It took the both of them to manoeuvre the coffin up the tower steps, and when they were at the top, they discovered that Vlad's bed had already been removed. Only his blankets were left tucked into the corner.

"Dibs on the sheets," Robin joked.

There was no response. He turned around to see Vlad staring oddly at him. "Uh oh. Do I have something in my hair?" Robin questioned.

The young vampire started out of his reverie. "No! No, sorry. Are you sure you don't want the coffin instead?"

"I would, but you no longer have enough mattresses in your room to make a sunproof pillow fort," Robin said. "As it is, let's have a real party." He dug into his backpack, which was still in the same place he'd discarded it yesterday. "I brought fang gummies."

They spent the night playing video games and watching tasteless comedy movies. Robin had stocked up on as many as he could take from his brothers' room, thinking that if Vlad did become a vampire and keep his personality, he would probably want a lot of cheering up.

"So, what's it like?" Robin inquired at the end of the night. Because of Vlad's newly nocturnal nature, they had stayed up very late into the morning. It was a good thing that May 9th had fallen on a Saturday this year, because if it hadn't, Robin would have been even more comatose in math than he usually was.

Vlad stared deeply into his eyes, searching for something. "It's... different," he said finally. "It feels like I'm the same person living in a different body. I feel more aware of who I am, too. Of what matters to me. So don't worry that I don't want to be around you anymore, because I do. I'm going to use my powers to bring humans and vampires together."

Robin's heart leapt to hear this. "What about the hunger?" he quizzed.

Vlad leant back against the pedestal his coffin was on, sadness on his face. "It's... very strong. Dad warned me that it would be until I drank human blood for the first time."

"What's it like?" the chocolate-eyed teenager asked, leaning forward, pulse quickening.

Vlad watched him carefully. "I can sense everything. Like I said earlier, I can hear your heartbeat. I smell your blood and feel your warmth, even from across the room. Everything that makes you alive is tangible. It's amazing," he murmured. Lust crept into his voice just speaking about it. Robin could hear it, and shivered.

"But I'm scared that I'm going to lose control." Vlad looked away as he said this.

Robin gave him a soft smile. "Don't worry about that. I'll be around to make sure you don't hurt anyone," he assured.

"It's you I'm worried about," Vlad admitted quietly.

Just thinking about that caused Robin's heart to hammer, but he did his best to keep that from his tone. "I can take you on. I'm still taller than you." He tried not to show how much he would enjoy being bitten. He knew it would devastate Vlad to hurt someone, no matter how willing they were.

After that, they prepared for sleep, dawn beginning to tinge the horizon. Robin was fatigued to the bones from the excitement of the day and only too eager to sleep. He prepared the blankets on the floor into a semblance of a bed and snuggled down into them. The soft caress of the sheets on his shoulders reminded him of how Vlad's fingers had touched his neck earlier and he remembered how his heart had squirmed in his chest at the light brush. He often got those weird little feelings around the brown-haired male. Robin just wrote them off as normal for friends. The fact that he'd never felt them around anyone else confirmed his suspicion. Idly, he wondered if Vlad ever got them. That thought stayed with him as he finally succumbed to his exhaustion, and that night, his dreams were of a peaceful nature.

-----

The freckled one hadn't come outside that day. He was annoyed with the teenager, but kept it under control. Of course, the little wretch was completely devoted to that insipid, gloomy vampire, and he couldn't leave his side on his birthday. Brenden had originally come here to stake the new Grand High Vampire, but found himself paying more attention to the human the bloodsucker kept with him. He wondered what the story was behind their acquaintance. Normally, he would assume that the youth was simply a blood doll or captive, but the adoring manner in which the black-haired boy went out of his way to please his companion made Brenden think otherwise. He was obscene, consorting so openly and completely with the enemy, and for some reason, this made Brenden want him more than he had ever wanted anyone before.


End file.
